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GWH Blog: Eight Gophers to Play in U.S. vs. Canada Series

The Under-22 teams for Hockey Canada and USA Hockey will face off in a three-game series Aug. 16-19 in Calgary. Between Team Canada and Team USA, eight Gopher players will be represented in the series.

Playing for Canada will be Gopher juniors Kelly Terry and Sarah Davis, both forwards. Davis also represented Canada in the 2012 Meco Cup. Terry has participated in a Canadian Under-22 development camp, and was a member of the Canadian Under-18 team in 2010.

On the U.S. roster are Sarah Erickson, Hannah Brandt, Megan Bozek, Rachel Ramsey, Anne Schleper, and Lee Stecklein. The U.S. team is not a true Under-22 team, as several members are at or above age 22. The Gopher contingent includes two forwards (Erickson, Brandt) and four defensemen (Bozek, Ramsey, Schleper, Stecklein). Brandt and Stecklein will be joining the Gophers as freshmen this fall, while Ramsey will be a sophomore. Bozek will enter her senior season this fall. Erickson and Schleper graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2012.

All six Gophers who represent Team USA participated in the National Festival in Blaine, Minn., last week. The last time this series was held (2010), Bozek. Erickson and Schleper were all on the U.S. team. Stecklein played for the U.S. at the 2012 Under-18 World Championships, while Brandt played on the Four Nations Cup team last fall.

In addition to the six Gopher players representing the United States, former Minnesota head coach Laura Halldorson will serve as an assistant coach for the series.

Team USA and Team Canada will play at 8 p.m. (central) on both August 16 and 17, and will finish the series on August 19 with an 11 a.m. (central) game. Games will be held at the WinSport Canada Athletic & Ice Complex in Calgary.

Real-time updates from the games will be available on Twitter @usahockeyscores

The U22 series vs. Canada will be played for the fifth time, with the first series contested in 2006. The series was not played in 2011 or 2009. The U.S. is 2-7-3 all-time against Canada in this event.